Indian telecom industry has grown from feature phone to smart through the accessibility of optical fibre. This transformation is made successful with a huge human resource, hence, stating the growth of skilled workforce in the telecom sector in the past five years. This great leap, in both, number of consumers as well as revenues from telecom services, has not only provided sufficient contribution in Indian GDP growth but also a platform for the unemployed to become the part of the development. Digital literacy is a key component of the Government’s vision in Make In India campaign.
Tech reformation
Online shopping is increasing its share in total internet usage in India. Improved data connectivity in both urban and rural parts of India, will further boost this trend. Similarly, the technology can be leveraged to offer high-quality remote education in high schools across the nation.
Giant players in this industry are developing and enhancing networks to reach to each and every nook and corner. All this is ultimately leading to creating an environment with high-end telecommunication means and sources. Not only the equipments are making its way to untouched areas, but the most high-end technology is penetrating. Data traffic powered by third generation (3G) and fourth generation (4G) services has led to rise in the number of usage across India.
Players are setting up towers, connecting lines, spreading waves and signals. Setting up technology leads to creating a requirement of a huge amount of manpower that is able to set up and run the equipments. About 85.1 per cent of the broadband subscriptions are via DSl technology. While the other technologies such as fibre, leased line, wireless, ethernet, cable modem covers only 14.9 per cent of the market. Furthermore, providing service in the remote and rural areas also requires massive investment. Currently, the main technology used for broadband access is digital subscriber line (DSl).
Tech assistance
Setting up of the most advanced and updated technology all across also comes with a responsibility of sustaining. Sustainability is achieved with proper technical support to businesses and end-to-end customers, which requires skilled forces available 24x7 that is qualified and trained. The current tele-density in India is 78.1. However, there is a large disparity between urban tele-density which stands at 169.37 as compare to rural tele-density which is 38.53 only.
The reason for the slow growth in tele-density in the rural areas is that it is less attractive for the telecom service providers to invest. The very need to keep the pace ongoing in the telecom industry many educational bodies have come up in the country with the vision to support the fraternity. This could only be done once the rural India is skilled and equipped with the respective information and knowledge. The learning and skilling doesn’t stop here. Upgradation of the same is required from time to time.
The need of availability of 24x7 creates an advanced need of more than small number of workforce, which ultimately increases the demand of human resources in the telecom sector due to upliftment in technology.
Develop skills
Time for Make in India to Move in India. With this campaign, rural India is focused to be benefitted. Serving the rural to participate in the vision of developing skills in every possible way. The need of qualified and skilled labour for satisfying the technology updates creates the need to training raw resources with required skills. Skills training through a preferred partner with mobile companies and telecom giants or Government vendors are making not only resources available to the companies, but, it is also opening doors to occupation and skills development to the unemployed rural sectors. Skill development and training is an ongoing need as and when technological updates keep happening. The role of a skill development training agency is superiorly played by making the manpower skilled, resourceful and tech friendly.
(The author Shendu Chaudhuri, CEO, Virtual Global Education limited)